Zubeia's Hope
by Prophe-Cass
Summary: Zubeia knew that peace was possible. She knew this; so why did Avizandum have it in his mind that it was a fool's errand to trust in such a thing?
1. Chapter 1

Zubeia hummed at the sound of wings flapping, raising her majestic snout to face her husband as he entered their den, nestling down beside her. "Avizandum." She greeted simply, curling her tail around their egg. It had only been born a week ago; and would be many years until it hatched.

Avizandum growled, his throat rumbling. "Hello, Zubeia. How is our egg?"

"Nothing has changed since this morning. What troubles you, my dear?"

"Humans." Avizandum spat, back arching as he lay himself across the ground, groaning. "A few tried to sneak across the border last night; after I returned home. They stole something; I think it was the heart of Rontillum."

"Oh!" Zubeia gasped, taking a step back. "They killed him, didn't they? That poor titan!"

"Indeed." Avizandum rumbled, sighed as he stared at their egg, sighing. "I slayed as many of them as I could for killing him, of course. Most still escaped."

"Will there ever be peace?" Zubeia fretted, shaking her head. "So much suffering. So much death."

"There will be peace when they stop invading, when they stop using dark magic." Avizandum snorted, shaking his head. "Which shall never happen."

"It could. I feel as though we're not giving them enough of a chance!" Zubeia flashed back, shaking her head in anger. "If only we let them, maybe we could-"

"Could what? Put aside your childish fantasies, Zubeia! It's been centuries, and they still haven't turned away from the evil which is dark magic!"

"You're being stubborn, Avizandum!" Zubeia roared, blue eyes flashing dangerously as electricity soared within them. Her tail raised, rippling with the familiar lightning, running across the entirety of the cove that they lived in. "You refuse to even try to settle this tiresome war; do you really want Azymondias to grow up stuck in this infinite cycle of hate and anger?! Do you really think he wishes for that to be his destiny."

"He shall do as he must." Avizandum returned, turning his back on her, nostrils flaring. "It is the way off all the kings before him."

"One day," Zubeia hissed, lowering her head. "You'll see that war is futile and that things can be better."

"We will see what we shall see." Avizandum retorted shaking his mighty head in disbelief. "And we will see which one is truly correct."


	2. Chapter 2

Peace had finally arrived. Despite his harsh words, Zubeia knew that Avizandum would be thankful to see the era of death finally end.

The Dragon Queen Regent stared down at the five curled up in the soft hair of her tail, only little, tiny, human King Ezran, his glow toad Bait, and her baby son, Azymondias truly asleep. Rayla, the daughter of Tiadrin and Lain – Zubeia's favorite Dragonguard members – and her best friend Callum wide awake and staring into one another's eyes.

A sort of giddy feeling filled Zubeia's chest, and she was well aware that if she were a Twin-Tailed Inferno-Tooth Tiger, she would be purring with great intensity. She could simply feel their _eros_ and utter devotion.

They were in love, and it was _adorable._

"So." Zubeia rumbled, drawing their startled attention to her. "An elf and a human, hmm? That has been unheard of for a millennium and a half."

Callum hastily denied it, pulling his hand out of Rayla's and pushing himself out of the white, wispy mane of the Dragon Queen. "Oh, no! No, no! We're just-"

"Callum." Rayla said, sighing slightly as she stared up into the Queen's ocean eyes. "I was kiddin' when we were climbin' up here. It's not a 'secret', ya know. I didn' expect it ta come up, but we're not goin' ta hide it."

"Oh." Callum blinked, rolling back into his previous place. "You-you like, have that really weird tone of voice where I can't tell if you're being serious in the end or just messing, or-"

"Yea, I know, I know." Rayla snapped back, grabbing his arm and yanking him down close. She leaned over and hissed into his ear with a low tone, "But this is the _Queen_ of _Dragons_! She's mighty, oh-so mighty! We'ra not goin' ta just _lie _to her about us!"

It was quiet enough that any regular creature would be unable to hear the whispered message, but, as mentioned before, this was Zubeia, the Queen of all Dragons. (Except for Sol Regam, of course. Poor, unfortunate soul…) She heard every word and found it almost humorous that they thought had apparently discussed keeping it a secret relationship.

"You two are so perfect together." Zubeia hummed, snatching their gaze back up to her. "The heir of the Dragonguards, and a step-prince. It's _precious _and _cute._"

"Thank you, your majesty." Rayla bowed her head respectfully, to the point where her face was completely obscured. "That is very kind of you."

Callum mimicked his girlfriend's position, though one hand was bent so that it touched his opposite shoulder, and the other hand was pushed as far out behind him as it could in a quite over-the-top gesture.

Zubeia laughed, the noise vibrating across the entirety of the cave.

Ezran, Azymondias, and Bait all stirred where they slept, fidgeting to change their position. Callum and Rayla looked at them in alarm, looking ready to jump over to them and comfort them back to sleep if any one of them arose.

Fortunately, none of them did, and settled back to properly sleep shortly afterward.

"Ezran and Azymondias are quite good friends, aren't they?" Zubeia inquired, leaning her muzzle down close to Rayla and Callum.

"Yeah, they really are." Callum's visage was filled with so much pride, his hazel eyes softening, that Zubeia's heart _swelled._

"They will lead Xadia and the Human kingdoms into an era of peace." Rayla whispered, a small smile gracing her lips. "That is their destiny, and they will do it well."

"That prediction also includes you both." Zubeia pointed out prodding Callum with the scale at the very tip of her nose. "A human and elf; united in love. That is sure to be encouraging to _so_ many. It was not believed that an elf and human could even have a semi-friendly relationship, but you two are have proven that's not only capable, but so much more besides."

Callum and Rayla exchanged a surprised look, before they each let out a giggle and grasped one another's hands.

_Hope,_ Zubeia thought, pulling back her muzzle from them and nestling it further into a different section of the cave. _My dear_ _Avizandum, is very much worth having. I kept my hope, even after all these hardships that came, and it turned out beautifully._


End file.
